The present invention relates to computer operating systems, and more particularly, to an improved networking environment which allows multiple operating systems to access a network server.
Individual computer workstations are often networked so as to provide resources that may be shared by the individual workstations and to provide communication between the workstations. Communications between computers is usually accomplished by implementing a stack of protocol modules in which the lowest levels provide the most primitive functions and higher order functions are built by higher layers to provide the type of service typically needed by the applications.
In prior art systems, the protocol stack used for networking is part of the operating system. Hence, changes in the operating system have an immediate impact on the protocol modules in the network stack. To prevent a totally adhoc approach to the networking interfaces, network protocol frameworks have been implemented in some systems. A framework provides standard interfaces between the various components in a network stack. Inter-protocol interfaces are defined for each framework. These interfaces provide the communication protocols used between modules and the operating system, the modules, and the network devices and between the protocol modules and the application programming interface(API).
While the framework approach avoids many of the problems inherent in the adhoc approach, the framework approach still has several disadvantages. First, there is no single framework. Hence, the problem of different protocols is only reduced, not eliminated. Second, current frameworks imperfectly hide differences in operating systems. The framework interfaces are not specified with sufficient detail to prevent independently developed implementations of a framework, or the same framework code ported to a different operating system from behaving differently. As a result, protocol modules which work in some framework implementations do not necessarily work in other implementations of the same framework.
Another problem inherent in prior art network servers is dependence of the network server on the operation system. This often leads to the need to alter the network server when other aspects of the operating system are altered.
Further, there are a number of hardware platforms, operating systems, and network protocol suites. The lack of independence leads to a significant maintenance problem for systems that must be maintained for multiple operating systems and hardware platforms.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved network system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a network system that is more independent of the operating system than prior art network servers.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a network server that can service multiple operating systems operating on the same platform.